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<title>You're Eternally Beneath My Skin by Arktosphonos</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28708554">You're Eternally Beneath My Skin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arktosphonos/pseuds/Arktosphonos'>Arktosphonos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Eventual Romance, F/F, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, Witch Namine, but after that it's all 20+ years because we don't fuck with underage in this house, familiar xion, like very slow burn, the first chapter is of babey namine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:54:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28708554</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arktosphonos/pseuds/Arktosphonos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Naminé was only seven when she was lost in the woods. Stumbling through the forest she cried and cried until something in the dark replied and asked to make a pact with her. Xion, her new familiar through said pact, now shares her soul and body as a chance at seeing what humanity is like in exchange for keeping Naminé safe.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Naminé/Xion (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You're Eternally Beneath My Skin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Her eyes burned and brimmed with tears but she had long since given up her pitiful wails for help. How long had she been walking now? Hours? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The forest was dark and deep, and she was hopelessly lost amongst it’s heavy moonless boughs. Her legs ached from both all the walking and the myriad of brambles, bushes, rocks and other things that had bruised her over the course of the night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If she ever made it home, her legs would be a mess for many days to come. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Naminé sniffled, her hand reaching up to smear away tears that had started to drip down her cheeks. She wiped her hands against the front of her dress, now tattered and stained with dirt and grass. She coughed on a sob that had started to make its way out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was all the seven year old could do now: walk, cry, and hope she managed to stumble her way back home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t even create a fire, or signal her mother somehow, the innate magic ability she possessed as a witch hadn’t bloomed yet and she was impotent in caring for herself at that moment. She was just like any other child lost in the woods.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A wrong turn at a berry bush had led to the child wandering in circles for hours, screaming out for her mother before her pleas turned to anyone who would be able to hear her. But no one came to rescue her before the night’s descent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nearby, a branch suddenly snapped, making the young girl freeze in her tracks, blood running cold as her heart began to beat quicker inside her chest. Her breathing even stopped as she strained her ears, listening out for any danger that might be approaching. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not everything was friendly in the forest. She knew that. Her mother always told her this and trusted Naminé to remember this vital knowledge. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An owl cooed from nearby and her tiny body began to tremble with all encompassing fear. Tears ran even quicker down her face as she listened. The quiet did nothing to alleviate the terror that had sunk into her bones. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes, while not created to see in the dark, had at least become accustomed enough to make out vague shapes and the outlines of trees. Nearby an old oak stood, tall and strong and proud, with a crevice carved out at the base from either time or an animal. It was a perfect hiding spot until the sun rose enough to make it safe to traverse the forest again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking a chance at movement, Naminé slunk ever so slowly over towards the tree before nestling in the almost too-small hollow. Her legs were drawn up close to her body, her forehead resting against her knees and her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she allowed herself to softly cry in the dirt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t know how long she sat there in the cold, but eventually her tears dried up and her whimpers tapered off into silence. She was so tired. Her eyes slid shut, the trembling starting to subside as sleep tried to coax her into its gentle embrace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“If you fall asleep, you’ll die from the cold,”</b>
  <span> a voice said, startling her out of her drowsy state. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-who’s there?!” Naminé called out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was terrified of another person at that moment. She was grateful for another person at that moment. The two feelings fought, neither able to overpower the other, so the child just trembled in the hollow of a tree and looked around frantically for the source of speech. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“I could be a friend, maybe,”</b>
  <span> the voice replied. </span>
  <b>“Would you like me to take you home?”</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” She sniffled, wiping at her face before peeking out of the shelter she found, desperate to see who was talking to her. The dark was all she could see. “Who are you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Indulgent laughter echoed, as whispery and light as a breeze. It was nice to hear, Naminé decided, and she relaxed ever so slightly. Maybe this person </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>lead her home safely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“Little witch, I ask again: would you like me to take you home?” </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The relaxation that had quickly started to blanket her ended at that moment. How did this person know what she was? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“You called me, that’s how I know,”</b>
  <span> the voice explained without prompting. </span>
  <b>“You reached out to me, not with your voice, but with a power you haven’t found yet. You’re so young, barely a witchling, yet your voice was so loud. You needed me.”</b>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want?” Naminé asked, now uncertain of the owner of the voice. While witches were no longer reviled by most people, it was still sometimes dangerous to announce yourself as such. People could still hurt you, her mother always warned her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Be careful, my love</span>
  </em>
  <span>, her mother would tell her, hands cupping her cheeks ever so gently. Her mother would wash her in her ever present scent of herbs and poultices she constantly worked on. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The world may seek to use you, be crafty and cunning and always be wary of another’s intentions.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want a life,” the voice replied. “I would be content to spend a lifetime with you, able to see and feel and explore through your eyes and body. I am not bound by mortal existence, merely floating in the void until I’m able to form a pact with someone. I choose you as my new master.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a demon,” Naminé hissed out. Her mother told her demons couldn’t be trusted, the way they hid meanings and left out things to better their own agenda meant they were fickle things. “I refuse to give you my soul or body. Leave me alone.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“I am no demon, I just simply am,”</b>
  <span> came the cryptic response. The child didn’t understand the riddles and way the creature spoke. It was messy and confusing. She just wanted to go home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“I aim not to possess you, child, but share your existence until the end. I’ll take you home if you give me this, and in return I’ll be your familiar, obedient to a fault. I can let you see my memories, my thoughts and intentions, only after we completely out pact.”</b>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Naminé thought about it all. Everything it said could be a lie, a trick, but she was so tired and cold and hopelessly lost in the dark recesses of the forest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If this thing promised to protect her, promised to swear fealty to her and listen to whatever she commanded, would it really be all that bad? Her fingers dug into the soft earth below her as she weighed the heavy options. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s barely seven, all her milk teeth weren’t even gone, and a creature was enticing her into sharing her body and soul. Getting lost in the woods was almost laughable compared to the choice she now had to make. It was hard, and she was scared of either answer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“Make a choice, witch. I have not long in this realm before I have to go,”</b>
  <span> the voice urged her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Promise me,” Naminé demanded, pleaded. “Promise me that you’re not a demon.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“I swear, child. I am no demon looking for a soul to consume.” </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then I accept.” The words were heavy, like a weight had been placed inside her. “You’ll be my familiar, I’ll share my life with you. I’ll make a pact with you, creature.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“Xion,”</b>
  <span> the voice said. </span>
  <b>“You can call me Xion.” </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Xion…” Naminé tested the name, felt each letter thoroughly on her tongue. “Take me home. I want to go home. I miss my mom.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A bright light suddenly engulfed her right hand, and when she was finally able to see again after the flash, a ring was on her index finger, silver, slender and arrayed with amethyst gems. The ring was beautiful, warm and felt like it had a heartbeat that thudded in time with her own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The voice was softer the next time she heard it, almost as if it was speaking in the very back of her skull. This time the voice was soothing, comforting. “I’m yours to command. The pact is made, we are bound together.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Naminé sniffled, suddenly overwhelmed by these foreign feelings of thankfulness, excitement, of absolute trust and the deep need to help. Frustration at these new emotions quickly overpowered her and she was nearly overbalanced by how crowded she suddenly felt. “Xion, are these your feelings?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“Once you’re older, once we practice, we’ll be better able to keep our emotions separate. But now we share the same space, the same body, we’re tangled in many ways and that includes emotionally. For a while we may be overwhelmed with each other. In time it will be easier.” </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her brows furrowed as she tried to understand what her familiar was saying. “Okay, I guess that makes sense.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That laughter again, and her ring seemed to thrum against her finger. </span>
  <b>“Basically: we’ll get used to each other. For now, let me take you home.”</b>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The world passed by in a blur and suddenly she was on the steps to her house. Her stomach lurched and she stumbled slightly from the vertigo that suddenly engulfed her as the world still seemed to spin on its axis wildly out of control. Even her eyes seemed to roll around as she struggled to remain upright on the stone steps. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she was home, even if it was shifting ever so slightly. Xion had done as asked and brought her back to safety. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I tell my mom about you?” Naminé asked as the world started to cease it’s twirling and grasped the handle to the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>“You can tell her whatever you like.” </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Thank you for taking me home.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The joy that surged through her was nice, she decided as she opened the front door. </span>
</p>
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